Transcend and Transgress

Artist Leon Botha, one of the world’s longest surviving Progeria sufferers, and photographer Gordon Clark embark on a collaborative and artistic adventure, exploring the questions of destiny and immortality to bring us this powerful photo series Who Am I? Transgressions.

The series of portraits depicts the 24 year old Botha, one of the world’s longest surviving Progeria sufferers. Progeria is a rare disease which causes rapid aging and related health complications. In Clark’s photographs Botha is literally dressed up and placed into theatrical projections of what society may see him as.
Botha is an artist himself and has worked hand-in-hand with Clark, a top photographer and commercials director, to explore the idea of what it means to experience difference.
Beyond the obvious reference to Botha’s condition, Clark says the work “shows a lot more about the state of the planet right now”.
The work challenges us while it celebrates Botha's triumphant survival. It unmasks our commonality as human beings and also suggests that our mechanism for coping with difficult life experiences sometimes involves acts of transgression.
The exhibition runs from13 January - 13 February 2010 at the João Ferriera Gallery, 70 Loop Street, Cape Town.